Hands-on with Huawei Vision

Huawei's Farsighted Vision

Huawei is a name well-known as a provider of USB modems, but it is slowly gaining recognition as a handset manufacturer over the last few months. Being a relatively new player in the smarthone scene, the company has been focusing its attention beyond the China market of late. Its diversified product portfolio has been making its way into various markets, starting from the Huawei Boulder and X6, to the company's recently announced Android 3.2 tablet, the Huawei MediaPad.

The Huawei Vision is the company's latest entry into the market. Positioned as a flagship model, the Vision sports Google's Android 2.3 operating system, with the standard high-end specifications. Equipped with a 3.7-inch display, the Vision also measures in at 9.9mm at its thinnest point, weighing in at 121g. From our initial impressions, the device had a good overall balance. Its chassis takes a stronger focus on its aluminum alloy body, departing from the usual full plastic build of its earlier Ideos lineup.

A strong similarity to the earlier MediaPad is noticeable, with the same unibody design on its rear. This is a reflection of Huawei's design focus. According to Hagen Fendler, Huawei's Chief Design Director of Handset, the company adopts a global alignment of its design approach and a main family design to create an identity that is recognizable across its diversified portfolio.

Another trait that's become a common sight is a slightly curved display, which was prominently felt as we fiddled with the Vision. The standard shortcuts are represented by touch sensitive buttons right below the display.

Unlike its earlier Ideos lineup, the Vision is the first of its devices dabbling in a customized user interface. On closer inspection, we saw the resemblance to SPB's Shell 3D, which isn't a coincidence. According to Huawei, what we saw on the Vision is essentially the same user interface, though it has been slightly customized to fit Huawei's devices. As we swiped across the interface, we noticed the fluidity and smoothness in screen handling.

Internally, the Vision is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, clocked at 1GHz. While the company isn't a stranger to dual-core processors (as seen for its MediaPad), the Vision utilizes a single-core processor. With most manufacturers showcasing a dual-core smartphone under its lineup, this would seemingly put Huawei's latest product at a disadvantage. Speaking to Victor Xu, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Device, we were informed that the company does have plans to introduce its own dual-core smartphones sometime in Q1 2012.

Key highlights of the Huawei Vision

Google Android 2.3

3.7-inch

1GHz Qualcomm single-core processor

512MB RAM / 2GB ROM

Up to 32GB microSD (external)

Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n

5-megapixel camera

1400mAh battery

121g

Available from September 2011 in selected markets

The Huawei Vision is slated for a September launch in selected markets. Apps such as Angry Birds, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Order & Chaos Online and Guerrilla Bob HD will be preloaded onto the Huawei Vision. The device will be available in three colors: rose gold, silver or charcoal.